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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Esp8266 - The Intenet-of-Things

My friend Larry - KB7KMO put me onto a new interesting and inexpensive device, - the Esp8266. The breakout board is available on ebay and others for only a few bucks ( <$5.00, the prices seem to vary all over the map).

Esp8266-ESP11

Currently there are several Rev's available (e.g., -ESP03, -ESP04, through -ESP12). I have Esp8266-ESP11 and Exp8266-ESP12 on order. I will know more about what the Rev's really mean later. Found: see Link.

The Esp8266 can be used to add WIFI to any processor with just a few lines of code. Many of the standard processors (i.e. Arduino) have support libraries already available.

Or Better YET !

The Esp8266 is a processor in it own right. There is a specially constructed GitHup repository with the new (1.6.1) Arduino IDE configuration the can be used to download and run code directly on the Esp8266 board. (see the GitHub Readme file)

The number of I/O's is a little lacking on the Esp8266, but for Networked Device for checking; a simple temperature, a water level, or alarming circuit, which reports status via Text Message, this is a great little part. As a stand-alone device, the one or two digital pins may be enough for some projects, just plan for multiple devices.

The Exp8266 can be configured as a simple Web Server, Web Client, Access Point, send Text Messages, and much-much more.

I think this is going to be a fascinating part for our Ham Radio and Hobby projects, this will make them all a part of the Internet-of-Things.

More info to follow, on how I will be using this part, I am very excited.